The patrimonial value of water: How to approach water management while avoiding an exclusively market perspective

Abstract

This article proposes an economic alternative to the traditional approach to calculating non-market values of the environment and natural resources, which we refer to here as “patrimonial”. We will first examine the traditional economic approach and its tendency to apply market categories to the economic valuation of non-market goods and services associated with the environment and natural resources. We will then move on to examine the way in which the question is perceived within the context of patrimonial economics by focusing on another form of economic rationality, based on the notion of a shared legacy or patrimony. Lastly, we will illustrate the tension between market values and patrimonial values in the field of water management and untreated water distribution infrastructure by analysing the recent evolution of Associations syndicales autorisées (“Authorized Union Associations”, or ASAs) in France and their approaches to pricing.